Asian Cucumber Salad

Photo Credit: Two Peas & Their Pod

Getting your family to eat healthy food is always a constant struggle. This Asian Cucumber Salad recipe is going to be an instant picker-upper. This recipe has a delicious mix of Asian flavors in the seasoning and a great change for a traditional cucumber salad. The excellent twist of Asian cuisine seasoning will add a lot of variety if your eating habits have gotten a bit mundane due to a busy schedule or for any other reason. This cucumber salad recipe is tossed together in sesame oil, white wine vinegar and a whole bunch of fresh vegetables like scallions, garlic, cilantro etc. You could eat this salad with grilled or roasted meat, and then there are days when you would want to eat it on its own. You’ll notice the taste and texture are crunchy, cool, sweet and tangy all at the same time. It is invariably a wonderful idea to incorporate into your daily meals some of these best healthy salads that are low in calories such as this cucumber salad recipe.

There are many nutritional benefits of cucumbers and including them more often in your diet is a good idea. The impressive point is that cucumbers contain 95 percent of water content, which makes this vegetable very low in calories yet very filling. It is hard to think that one serving size or a half cup of cucumber slices have as low as just eight calories in total. Even though cucumbers are a low-calorie vegetable, they are especially filling and make a great dinner option and a low-carb food at the same time. Cucumbers are very powerful in supplying essential nutrients to our bodies like vitamin C and potassium. They are very low in sodium and free of cholesterol which makes them the most sought-after vegetable in salad recipes. If you can, always eat cucumbers with their peel intact since the peel has many nutrients. You don't need another reason other than the nutritional benefits of cucumbers to make this yummy recipe as many times as possible.

To keep the flavors more interesting in this cucumber salad recipe, you can try adding other ingredients. For instance, in the salad dressing, you can sprinkle sriracha sauce, Gochujang sauce or even add hoisin sauce for a slightly sweeter taste. Gochujang is a type of Korean condiment that has a distinct sweet and spicy taste to it that adds a wonderful oriental flavor. You can find this Gochujang sauce in any Asian food stores or the Asian section in a regular store. Use different spices such as paprika, cayenne pepper, or cumin powder for a strong flavor in the salad. Spices not only add to the taste but also add to the health factor as they are high in antioxidants. You can add other veggies like bell peppers, romaine lettuce, peas, corn, etc. You can also add a choice of protein like grilled chicken breast, black beans, chickpeas, etc. Add a choice of green leafy vegetables like arugula or baby spinach.

Easy salad recipes for lunch or dinner are always important to have handy, and this cucumber salad is exactly that. It’s healthy, hearty and easy to prepare. Thank you to Maria at the Two Peas & Their Pod recipe blog for sharing this Asian Cucumber Salad recipe with us. For more easy salad recipes and ideas for healthy salads do check out Maria’s blog. This cucumber salad recipe is one of the best salads you can serve if you're looking for a change that is different from the usual cucumber salad. Enjoy this cucumber salad recipe with your family today!